Managing Director, We Animals Media

As the world’s leading animal photojournalism agency, We Animals Media (WAM) documents how animals are used for human purposes — those used for food, fashion, entertainment and experimentation — and works with NGOs, media and advocates to tell animal stories and advocate for change. Our global network of award-winning photographers captures hard-hitting images from a broad and diverse spectrum of animal industries. In support of our mission, we investigate industries, mentor photographers, operate a stock platform, and engage with media and NGO partners to shift attitudes, industry and policy.

About The Role

We are looking for our next Managing Director to provide strategic and operational leadership for our evolving nonprofit. This role acts as a strategic partner to WAM’s Founder and President and will be tasked with overseeing the creation and execution of the organization’s strategic objectives, providing financial leadership, creating organizational efficiencies and overseeing our remote and distributed team of 14 talented staff.

We are looking for an experienced people-manager who is passionate about how animal photojournalism can contribute to the end of animal suffering caused by humans. The Managing Director will be tasked with creating strategic focus for the organization and ensuring the team is well-resourced and able to fulfill our goals and commitments. The Managing Director will be a roll-up-their-sleeves type of leader prepared to get done whatever needs to get done within our small but mighty nonprofit. They will also hold relationships with our major funding partners, working with the Founder to ensure the ongoing financial sustainability of the organization.

This is a remote position within Canada.

Responsibilities

Strategy & organizational effectiveness:

• Ensure the team’s work is aligned with and supports the strategic objectives and that responsibilities are clear; engage team in collaboratively setting KPIs
• Responsible for WAM’s internal learning processes, including post-project debriefs and goal review sessions
• Assess new strategic opportunities and help identify the right opportunities to explore, ensuring alignment with WAM’s mission
• Oversee the evaluation of WAM’s impact, implement changes to improve performance towards WAM’s goals
• Oversee the implementation of WAM’s multi-year strategic plans
• Ensure annual projects support WAM’s strategic directions and objectives
• Conduct organizational strategic planning sessions with the WAM team, engage outside consultants where appropriate

Team management:

• Approve departmental budgets and timelines, provide oversight to ensure each department’s projects are being executed according to plan
• Promote a healthy work environment and role model healthy work habits
• Directly manage the following positions: Director of Global Fieldwork and Visual Content, Fundraising Manager, Operations Coordinator, IT Specialist, and other roles as they are brought onto the team
• Identify team training needs and opportunities; source and integrate relevant training programs for all staff
• Determine criteria and process for assessing team performance
• Plan and execute regular team meetings to build team alignment and culture

Human resources:

• Manage employee compensation structure and philosophy
• Oversee recruitment processes; lead the development of new role descriptions in collaboration with the relevant department head; oversee onboarding, ensuring recruitment processes are enjoyable and fair
• Respond to any team related HR issues
• Oversee the development of and team compliance with organizational policies and procedures
• Jointly make hiring decisions with the Founder & President
• Ensure HR practices and policies are compliant with local/federal law
• Oversee termination and offboarding processes

Partnership development & relationships:

• Further develop organizational partnerships for investigation support by assessing fit and potential with Director of Global Fieldwork

Financial management:

• Develop the annual operating budget, working with department heads to identify needs
• Coordinate the annual audit
• Maintain relationships with major funders, including reporting
• Prepare funding requests for major grant applications
• Liaise with WAM accountant and audit firm to ensure books are kept up to date and reporting requirements are met
• Be accountable to the financial management of WAM
• Work closely with the bookkeeping team to ensure books are maintained and reports are regularly produced

Governance & compliance:

• Help develop, maintain, and support a strong and diverse Board of Directors, ensuring board is kept informed and up to date
• Work with the Board of Directors to review organizational budget and strategy, ensuring the organization is financially sustainable and tracking to strategic directions and goals
• Ensure all legal and regulatory documents are filed and monitor compliance with laws and regulations
• Schedule, attend, and prepare all relevant materials for quarterly board meetings and Annual General Meeting

Requirements

• Commitment to WAM’s mission and values
• A track record of managing projects from start to finish (experience in project management is a plus but not required)
• A track record for actively contributing to the development of a culture of continuous learning and improvement
• Ability to think analytically and from a systems perspective
• Experience working effectively in an asynchronous remote team in multiple time zones
• Excellent communication skills
• 3+ years of experience in a senior management role
• Aligned with vegan values and ability to represent our values publicly and with partners
• Familiarity with the farmed animal advocacy movement
• Experience managing organizational or departmental budgets
• 6+ years of experience in relevant fields (nonprofit, management, fundraising)
• Experience using digital project management and communication tools (we use Asana, Slack, and Workspace)

How to apply

Application deadline: We are accepting rolling applications until the position is filled.

Check status of the search process here: https://www.gerardsearch.com/searches.html

Contact [email protected] for more information.

If you’re excited about this role and our mission but aren’t sure if your credentials are a perfect fit for a “C-suite” title and responsibilities, we encourage you to apply anyway! You might just be the right candidate to grow within the role.

We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply, especially those from under-represented backgrounds. We value diversity and believe that work on behalf of animals benefits greatly from collaborating with people from all backgrounds and identities.

Interview process (Subject to minor adjustments):

• Screening call
• Offer
• Application form
• Interview 1 (1.5 hours)
• Interview 2 (1.5 hours)
• Reference check
• Test task (~3 hours, paid)

Benefits

Type of employment: Permanent, full time

Reports to: Board of Directors

Location: Remote, based in Canada

Salary: $84,000 - $94,000 CAD full-time salary

Start date: September/October 2023

Perks of working with us:

• Remote work
• Remote work stipend
• Benefits package
• Three weeks paid vacation plus extended holiday closure period
• Flexible hours
• A friendly, funny, talented and caring team
• Paid training opportunities and professional development allowance

More about us: We are a federally incorporated non-profit based in Toronto, Canada. We are a small, fully remote team distributed across different time zones. We offer a flexible working schedule, professional development opportunities, and operate with plenty of autonomy in our roles to support varied needs and working styles. Visit our website weanimalsmedia.org.